christi furnas

​artworks

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hello, allow me to introduce myself.

I have been working as a professional artist since my teens. At twenty-four, I was diagnosed with schizophrenia. At the time, a friend said that my diagnosis explained my drawings. I’m still trying to figure out exactly what she meant by that. My ink drawings come from my imagination. They are whimsical and deceptively simple. Perhaps for a while, I mistook my content for surrealism. While my ink drawings use a smooth line and an emphasis on negative space, I do not consider myself to be a minimalist. As my drawings have evolved into a narrative, now I’m also a cartoonist. With oil, I prefer thick brushstrokes and bright colors. I want my paintings to have a story that a viewer can see. The closest definition I have found is figurative expressionism. Light, shadow and a sense of exaggeration proportion are important to my composition. My vocabulary is constantly shifting.

My latest and most ambitious project is a graphic novel. I created Fox Foxerson, a gender neutral protagonist faced with the onset of an unfamiliar mental illness. Fox battles symptoms and tries to stay employed. Fox navigates the health care system labyrinth and attempts to maintain friendships, even as defining “reality” becomes a challenge. In the realm of fiction, Fox can tell my adventures while I stay free to have fun with my characters: Sock Puppet Doctor, Jellyfish Boss-lady, Goth Fairy, monsters and such. My goal for Fox is that by presenting a string of easily identifiable moments, I am able to bring folks into the totality of an experience that they might not otherwise imagine. My goal is to keep the story accessible. When Fox is experiencing symptoms, the visual structure of the storyboard changes. I want folks who have a diagnosis to know they are not alone. I want folks who know someone with a diagnosis to be able to understand that experience a little better. I want to invite everyone to be entertained, to have fun, fall in love with art and start a conversation.​

christi furnas

Crazy like a fox: Adventures in schizophrenia

This graphic novel currently in development draws from own experiences. Fox and I both share a dark sense of humor which sees us through our adventures.

exhibition:​flying foxes

The Flying Foxes are seven badass graphic novelists who use art and storytelling to examine society, memory, and their own history in 50 stunning frames.

"At twenty-four, I was diagnosed with schizophrenia. At the time, a friend said that my diagnosis explained my drawings. I’m still trying to figure out exactly what she meant by that."

christi furnas

Christi Furnas is a multidisciplinary artist who works and lives in Minneapolis. As a 2016 recipient of the Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant, she began her first graphic novel, Crazy Like a Fox: Adventures in Schizophrenia. Christi debuted in New York City at Undercurrent Projects Gallery in an exhibit of graphic novelists titled Flying Foxes in March 2017.

Prior to this project, Christi has shown her oil paintings and drawings in Twin Cities galleries; most notably Soo Visual Arts Center, and in the nationally juried show, Open Door Seven at Rosalux Gallery. In 2014, she won the People’s Choice Award in the North East Minneapolis Arts Association’s Fall Fine Arts Show, and was awarded a VSA Emerging Artist Grant through the Jerome Foundation. Christi has received national attention for her work as a community arts organizer from Advocate Magazine, who named her one of their “40 Under Forty Most Inspiring People” in May 2012. She currently works as the Peer Support Specialist for Avivo ArtWorks, facilitating workshops and supporting artists with mental illness in all stages of their career.​